


Red Dress

by miladydewinter



Category: Mass Effect
Genre: Destroy Ending, F/F, F/M, Joker and Sam friendship, Liara and Sam friendship, mostly shaynor, with lots of accidental Joker/EDI they insisted on being adorable
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-06
Updated: 2015-11-06
Packaged: 2018-04-30 09:10:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,249
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5158214
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/miladydewinter/pseuds/miladydewinter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Having survived the impossible once again, Jane Shepard wakes up in a makeshift hospital on Earth only to learn that they lost contact with the Normandy shortly after the Crucible went online.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, the Normandy crew scramble to fix the ship and get back to civilisation and, more importantly, to Jane.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Red Dress

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first contribution to the Mass Effect fandom. I finished ME3 for the first time last night (I'm super late, I know) and basically went into denial. This is the result of my denial. I say "first contribution" because I have a couple of ideas, so if people are willing to read them I'm hoping to write more in future :)

No-one complains when Samantha starts sleeping in Shepard’s cabin. Part of her almost wants someone to try, just so she has a reason to shout. She finds it helps if she screams into the pillows on Jane’s bed. The rest of the Normandy’s crew must’ve heard it, but no-one’s said anything. Not to her face, anyway.

It takes her just over a week to pluck up the courage to use the shower. By that point her hair is greasy and her usually smooth legs feel like cacti. She closes her eyes and tips her head back, lets the water run over her. And then she imagines Jane, wrapping her arms around her waist, kissing the juncture between neck and shoulder, and for a moment it’s delightful but then the memory fades and she remembers what has happened since that beautiful evening. She can’t help but cry.

Garrus and Tali are together now. Samantha wants to be happy for them, but for some reason she can’t stand to be in the same room as them. It’s fine when they’re separate, but when they’re together… it takes Samantha a while to realise that she’s jealous.

She decides to distract herself with rebuilding EDI. It doesn’t take much to persuade Joker to help her. The decision to leave Shepard was hard on him, almost as hard as it was on her. Jane liked him a lot; she got brother/sister vibes off of the pair from the first moment she saw them together, with their teasing and their joking. They were mean to each-other, but at the end of the day they were close. Losing both a sister and a lover on the same day must’ve been devastating for him.

Samantha hopes that maybe, if they can get EDI back online again, she’ll be able to help them with repairs to the ship. Then they should be able to find their way back to Earth, back to the Citadel, and maybe back to Jane.

She knows she’s deluding herself. Jane died. No-one explodes and survives to tell the tale. But then again, Samantha reasons, Jane Shepard isn’t no-one.

-

When Jane chose to destroy the Reapers, she didn’t expect she’d live to see the result. She'd hoped Samantha would forgive her.

To say she is surprised when she wakes up in a makeshift hospital back down on Earth would be an understatement. Her throat is dry and raw, her head is throbbing, and god, was sunlight always that bright?

She goes to sit up, but almost immediately firm hands are pressing down on her shoulders, forcing her to lie back down.

“Easy there, Commander,” says an unfamiliar voice. Jane’s eyes focus on the asari medic just as she turns to call over her shoulder, “Can someone inform Admiral Hackett that Shepard’s awake?” The asari returns her attentions to Jane, smiling down at her kindly. “How are you feeling, Commander?”

Jane tries to respond, but her sore throat refuses to comply. As though she understands what Shepard is trying to convey, the asari disappears, only to return a few minutes later with a beaker full of water. She helps Shepard into a sitting position. Jane drinks until the beaker is empty and hands it back to the asari.

“Did we win?” she asks.

The asari nods. “Thanks to you.”

“What happened to my crew? The crew of the Normandy. What happened to them?”

For the first time since Jane awoke, the asari’s smile falters. “I’m sorry, Commander, we lost contact with the Normandy shortly after the Crucible went online.”

They’re dead? No. No, that can’t be right. “Find them,” Jane finds her old ‘Commander voice’ comes to her naturally, even in this sorry state. “Tell Hackett I want them found. Tell the Council, too. Send however many ships it takes. Do whatever it takes. I want them found.”

“Hey, hey, easy, Commander,” the asari tries to reassure her. “Right now, you need to rest.”

“I can’t rest until I know the status of my crew!”

She tries to sit up again. If she can just find Admiral Hackett, she’s sure she could persuade him to at least hear her out.

She doesn’t want to pull the ‘you guys at least owe me this’ card, but finds the more the nurse refuses to let her get up, the more frustrated she becomes and it just tumbles out of her mouth. Eventually, she feels a sharp pain in her arm and relaxes against her pillow, watching hazily as the asari nurse pulls an injection needle out of her arm.

-

After a few weeks of intense work with few breaks- and those only for essential activities like eating, bathing and sleeping- Joker and Samantha finally make a breakthrough. EDI’s robotic body has been lying lifelessly on a bed in the med bay, with them thinking they’d have a better chance of restoring her if they worked directly on the Normandy. They’re in the AI core at the moment.

Samantha solders a loose cable into place. She’s met with a slight buzzing noise, and Joker lets out a sudden gleeful ‘ha!’ sound.

She looks up from her position, crouched on the floor, at his chair. She finds a strange blue orb obscuring her view. EDI. She remembers from when she was first assigned to the Normandy, back when she thought she was just a regular VI, that this was the form EDI used to take before she had a body.

“EDI, can you hear me?” Joker asks. He’s leaning forward in his seat, trying to get closer to the orb. Usually Samantha would scold him (any further and he’s going to fall, and they really don’t have the resources to spare dealing with all the broken bones that would ensue should that happen), but she can’t find the heart to.

There’s a moment, a heart-stopping moment, where it looks like all they’ve done is bring up her little holo-ball, and not EDI herself. But then a familiar voice says, “Yes, Jeff, I can hear you.”

Samantha has by this point stood up, and just about manages to catch Joker when he jumps up from his chair and hobbles over, wrapping his arms around her and hugging her as tightly as he is able. She’s gentle in return, honestly afraid that she might break him, but she hugs him back all the same.

“EDI,” Samantha says, once she’s helped Joker back into his chair, “we were hoping you might be able to help us. Not that that’s the only reason we brought you back, of course, but now you’re here…”

“What do you require assistance with, Traynor?”

“We were hoping you could help us get the Normandy up and running again.”

There’s a silence spanning about thirty seconds before she responds. “My scans indicate extensive damage. There is a breach on the portside cargo deck, and the front of the ship is badly damaged.”

“Yeah, but is it fixable?” Joker pressed.

“With the correct resources, I estimate the Normandy will be ready for travel in approximately two months.”

Joker grins, but Samantha can’t allow herself to dare to hope until she’s sure she might have some lead, however small. “EDI, are any of these resources we need available in the nearby area?”

Another pause. “There is a retired Cerberus base approximately five miles from our current destination. It is probable that they will have parts we can salvage and use for our own needs.”

They might not die on this humid jungle planet after all.

-

When she wakes up this time, it doesn’t take her eyes as long to adjust. Admiral Hackett is standing over her, hands behind his back, concern etched into his features. Beside him, Jane recognises the asari nurse from earlier. She really needs to learn that woman’s name…

“Dhala here says you wanted to speak with me when you were able,” Hackett says. Dhala. That must be it.

“Yes,” Jane manages to sit up, and this time no-one moves to stop her. “I heard that my ship and my crew have gone missing.”

“I thought you might ask about this,” Hackett admits. “Shepard, we respect that you’re worried about your crew, but I’m afraid we can’t spare the resources right now. Each race has a lot of injured to take care of and a lot of damage to repair. The mass relays are still down, and we’re going to need to rebuild the Citadel. We’ll hold a memorial service in honour of their sacrifice, but apart from that-”

“No,” Jane cuts him off. “I don’t want a memorial service. For all we know, they’re still alive and out there and we owe it to them to at least look.”

“We can’t, Shepard,” Hackett insists. “I wish it was different, I really do.”

She’s so angry she doesn’t trust herself to speak, and eventually Admiral Hackett excuses himself.

“Is there anything I can do for you, Commander?” Dhala asks.

“Could you ask Urdnot Wrex to come talk to me? We’re old friends.”

Dhala smiles. “Of course, Commander.”

Good. If anyone left on this planet is capable of sympathising with her plight, it’ll be Wrex, she’s sure of it.

-

At the next available opportunity, a small party consisting of Ashley, James and Garrus heads into the abandoned Cerberus facility to salvage parts for the ship. It’s just like the old days, Samantha muses, as she sits on Jane’s bed and watches the fish swim around. For all her insistence that she wouldn’t feed them, she found she couldn’t bear to let them die. They were so important to Jane, and anything that helped preserve her memory was precious.

In some ways, it was better than the old days. She didn’t have the constant fear that Jane was going to be killed out there, or that she was going to return battered and bloody and die in the med bay. At the same time, it was worse. Because if there was the chance that Jane might be shot, it also meant that she had to be alive in the first place. None of them could be sure even of _that_ anymore.

The door hisses as it opens and Samantha looks up. Liara stands in the doorway, hands clasped awkwardly.

“May I come in?” she asks.

Samantha nods and pats the space on the mattress beside her. “Of course. What’s up?”

“I thought you might need some company,” she explains as she makes her way down the steps, taking the indicated seat. “Goddess knows, I’d welcome a distraction from my thoughts.”

“Do you think we can fix her?” Samantha ventures, “The Normandy, I mean. Do you think it’s possible?”

“EDI seems to think so, and she’s usually right about such things.” Liara turns to face her, eyes bright and big and blue. “I can only imagine what you’re feeling right now. I’m so sorry.”

“What for?”

“Shepard,” Liara smiles weakly. “I miss her, too.”

“I keep waking up and expecting to find her lying there beside me,” Samantha confesses. “It hurts so much to find the bed empty.”

“Every time the door to my office opens, I look up half-expecting it to be her.” Liara looks down at her hands, which lie fidgeting in her lap. “I remember the first time Shepard died. Back then, she was the only thing holding the crew of the Normandy together. Those of us who survived when the ship went down drifted apart all too easily, went our own separate ways. I remember missing her then, too. I remember waiting anxiously for an email, for a news report, for anything, just someone to confirm that she had somehow, by some miracle, survived. I lost hope after the first year. And then I heard word of her being seen working with Cerberus, and everything came flooding back. My poor assistant! She looked so confused, bless her, when I broke into floods of tears.”

“I didn’t know her then,” Samantha says. “It was on the news for a couple of weeks. The Alliance held a memorial service which was shown on TV.”

She isn’t sure who starts it, but they end up sharing stories about their experiences with Jane Shepard. Happy stories, ranging from the bravery she displayed in the face of danger to the more silly things like that awkward little shuffle she did when she attempted to dance. They both end up laughing, for the first time in forever, and Samantha finds that for one night, at least, she’s able to stop consciously forcing herself to pretend Jane’s just hiding somewhere on the ship, and not probably dead.

-

“And they’re not even sending out a rescue team?” Wrex clarifies.

Jane nods. She’s spent the last five minutes explaining her situation to her friend, complete with angry swearing.

“That’s bullshit!” He says, throwing his arms in frustration. Jane can’t help but agree. “Sure, there’s work to be done, but we can spare one ship!”

“Exactly!”

Wrex thinks about the matter for a few seconds. “I could probably get you a ship. We can’t get back to Tuchanka until the mass relays are working again, so it’ll just sit around doing nothing otherwise. Not sure how many men I can spare to man it, though.”

“Thank you!” It hurts, but Jane forces herself around so that her legs hang over the side of her bed and wraps her arms around the Krogan. “That’s more than I had five minutes ago!”

“You helped cure the genophage, and then you defeated the Reapers,” Wrex reasons. “Way I see it, it’s the least I could do for you.”

“It’s not like I defeated the Reapers single-handedly.”

“That doesn’t change the fact that if it wasn’t for you, none of us would be here right now.”

There is a humble, modest part of her that is begging her to disagree, but in the end it’s defeated by a sense of pride, because it’s true.

-

It takes the entirety of the surviving crew to patch up the Normandy. When they’ve finished, it’s obvious that they’ve fixed it with whatever bits and bobs they could find and adapt. Samantha is terrified it will fall apart the moment they start the engines up. But EDI insists that it’s safe to travel in now, and that’s good enough.

When they manage to escape the planet’s orbit and enter space, there are cheers. Samantha is sitting in the mess hall, pretending to read a book she found in Jane’s cabin whilst really listening to a conversation between Garrus and James, when Joker’s voice breaks over the intercom:

“Hello, just letting you all know we’re now entering deep space. EDI can’t detect any mass relays in the area.”

“It’s possible that the Crucible targeted and destroyed the mass relays,” EDI interjects.

“Yeah, that,” Joker confirms, “So if you could hang in there we might be travelling for a while. Good news is there aren’t any Collector ships on our radar, so for the moment at least we can relax without fear of blowing up.”

James cheers loudly, jumping to hug Garrus who laughs and tries to awkwardly return to gesture.

From the corner, Tali says, “Hey. Hands off my turian,” but the joy in her voice is prevalent and she makes no move to separate the two friends.

Samantha lifts her book up to hide her face and allows herself to smile, to dare to hope that someday, maybe even someday soon, she might see Earth again and, with it, Jane Shepard.

-

Admiral Hackett doesn’t seem particularly pleased with Jane’s plan of action, but he doesn’t forbid it either. He does, however, tell her she wouldn’t be able to command the krogan ship Wrex has offered up for her use.

“We can spare a small crew,” he explains, “but we need you here.”

“I almost died getting the Crucible online and saving your asses,” Jane snaps, “what more could you want of me?”

“Things are desperate,” he says. “The people need something a symbol to remind them that even in the darkest of times, there is always hope. Someone. And that someone is you, Jane.”

“Isn’t Bakara a better symbol of hope? She survived horrible experiments and is now pregnant with one of the first healthy krogan babies in years.”

“I doubt the salarians would be very happy if we decided to use a krogan as our beacon of hope.”

“Tell them to get their heads out of their asses then.”

“Shepard!” Hackett sighs tiredly. “Look. I understand, honestly. If I could spare you, you know I would, but we need you here. The political system here is fragile at best. You’re the only person we know can unite every race in the galaxy and keep them together. We can’t afford to let you go. There would be chaos. Uprisings. We don’t have the resources to deal with such things.”

She wants to argue further, but experience tells her that Admiral Hackett can be very stubborn when he wants to be and she knows it won’t get her anywhere.

He can’t stop her from going to wave off the crew on board her krogan ship, though. There’s a mix of races- human, krogan, asari- really anybody who could get away from helping out with everything that needed attention after the war. Medics were necessary, and soldiers should things get out of hand, but a handful of human civilians had jumped at the chance to help the Commander Shepard be reunited with her crew, and not all of the soldiers were needed any longer. Most races could spare one or two.

“I’ve sent you a data-file,” Jane explains to the captain of this patchwork crew, an asari named Fausta. “It should help you to recognise the Normandy if you see it. There are also photographs of every member of the crew serving at the time of its disappearance.”

“Thank you, Commander,” Fausta says, lifting her wrist to check her omni-tool and nodding her head. “Yes, I’ve got it. Thanks again!”

“No, it’s me who should be thanking you,” Jane insists.

That night, she goes through her omni-tool, looking at the pictures she’d attached to her email earlier in the day. The thought of them dead, injured, or suffocating alone in deep space plays over and over in her mind. She forces herself to scroll through them all. She reaches Sam last, by which point she’s already crying.

The next morning, she sets about looking for a house to buy.

-

“Jeff, there is a krogan vessel within range,” EDI says. “Would you like me to launch communications?”

“Woah, krogan, uh… are they still on our side?”

“I doubt Urdnot Wrex would betray Shepard so suddenly,” she pauses for a moment, as though thinking. “Although krogans can be rather unpredictable.”

“Not helping.”

“Sorry. I think it would be best if we launched communications. We don’t have enough fuel left to get to the next system, and we’re several systems away from Earth.”

“Shit,” Joker pulls up the records and finds that she is indeed right. Their fuel reserves are running dangerously low. “Alright. Open communications.”

“Anything for you, Jeff.”

“Stop it. You’ll make me blush.”

“You’re sweet when you’re flustered.”

Joker finds that her comment, much to his annoyance, does indeed make him blush. He'd only been teasing before. “Communications!”

“Of course, Jeff.”

She falls quiet and a few moments later, an asari appears onscreen in front of him. Joker blinks. He’d been expecting a krogan.

“Um, hello,” he says, shaking off his initial shock. “This is Jeff Moreau of the SSV Normandy SR-2. We require assistance.”

“Oh Goddess, we found them,” the asari breathes, barely audible. She turns to call over her shoulder to someone unseen. “Guys! Guys, we found them!” He hears cheering from her end.

“I’m sorry, what’s going on over there?”

“I’m so sorry, you must be so confused right now,” the asari smiles kindly. “I’m Captain Fausta. Commander Shepard sent us to find you.”

“Shepard’s alive?” Joker dares to ask. The asari nods, and he allows himself to relax back in his chair. “EDI, could you tell Sam the good news? She deserves to know.”

“I agree. I will inform her immediately.”

“Thanks, EDI.” He turns his attention back to the asari onscreen. “So are you gonna, what? Tow us or something?”

-

Samantha is just feeding Jane’s fish when the blue orb flickers into life.

“Traynor,” EDI’s voice says, startling her slightly, “I have news.”

“News?” Samantha turns to face the orb. “Good, I hope?”

“I think so. We’ve found another ship. They said Shepard sent them.”

“She’s alive?” Sam breathes.

“It would seem so.”

“Oh my god.” Samantha relaxes against the glass of the fish tank behind her, legs suddenly weak.

“I thought you would be pleased,” EDI says, confused.

“I am,” Samantha grins, “I’m so happy, EDI. Just a bit… I feel so _relieved_ , you know?”

“Yes,” EDI agrees, “I think I do.”

-

Jane finds a gorgeous house just outside of Paris. Remembering Samantha’s reluctance to visit Vancouver, and her suggestions of other possible date locations, she thought looking into places like Paris or Venice might be a good place to start.

She had returned to Admiral Hackett a few days after his insistence she stay, armed with a bargain. She would stay and agree to be paraded around in front of everybody as a ‘beacon of hope’ or whatever he called it, so long as he provided the money for a house of her choosing. She warned him she wanted somewhere big, and pretty.

Just as she’d suspected, he’d been more than willing to agree if it meant keeping her on Earth, and a ridiculously large amount of credits were transferred to her account.

She’d been granted leave to travel around the planet, provided she let them film her give motivational speeches and visit refugees to offer comfort and support. She was more than happy to do this.

The house is a couple of hours drive away from Paris, which in Jane’s mind is still quite close. It’s in France. Close enough. This part of the world had been left more or less untouched by the Reapers, since it was rural and sparsely populated, and it was evident early on that their strategy was to target the more densely populated areas first. There are a couple of acres of land, which Jane thinks might be nice for the children and the dog Samantha mentioned. Jane absolutely refuses to believe that Samantha might not make it to Earth to see the home she’s found for them. Part of her knows this is possible- likely, even- but she doesn’t listen to it. She doesn’t want to.

The previous owner of the house was selling it so that he could buy himself a spaceship and flee to Mars. Apparently, he plans to wait there for the mass relays to get back online, and then he’ll move somewhere more permanently. Thessia, perhaps. Jane has noticed that a lot of people with the money to do this sort of thing are doing so.

The first video call she gets in her new house is from Fausta.

“Commander Shepard,” she’s bouncing in her seat, positively glowing with pride. “We found them.”

Jane feels her jaw drop and hurriedly corrects it. “My crew? Are they safe?”

Fausta nods. “We’ve attached to the ship and are en route as we speak. I estimate we should be back in around….” she taps at her keyboard, “three days? Should we meet you in London?”

“I, um, yeah,” Jane fumbles over her words, relief sweeping over her like a tidal wave. “Three days.”

“I’ll look forward to it.”

“Shepard out.” She ends the call and puts her head in her hands, squealing with excitement.

-

The day they’re set to arrive on Earth, Samantha spends an eternity in Jane’s shower. She’s not usually one for make-up, but she asks Ashley for some help and allows the other woman to apply a little eyeliner and a little mascara, making her brown eyes stand out.

“You don’t need to make yourself look pretty for Shepard, you know,” Ashley says, once she’s stepped back to admire her work. “She’d love you even if you woke up one morning and you’d turned into a krogan.”

“How would that even work?”

Ashley shrugs and replaces the cap on her mascara.

Samantha knows that Jane loves her. Sometimes she can’t understand why, but she knows it’s true all the same. Still. After both thinking the other was dead (Samantha had quizzed Fausta over their communication link in the cockpit for hours, dredging up every little bit about Jane’s current state of health), it only seems fair to make a little bit of a fuss over their reunion.

It’s not every day you get to embrace your dead girlfriend, after all.

She really, really hopes Jane doesn’t intend to make a habit of this.

Liara walks in on her rummaging through Jane’s clothes. The only articles Samantha had brought with her had been Alliance uniform which, while nice and professional, weren’t exactly very exciting. She’d been hoping Jane might have something a little more party. 

No such luck. All she’d found so far were several hoodies, some t-shirts, some leggings and several pairs of jeans.

“Am I interrupting something?” Liara asks.

Samantha looks up. “No. No, I was just looking for something to wear. I want to look nice.”

Liara smiles knowingly. “I understand. There’s no point in looking through Jane’s things, though. She only owns one dress as far as I’m aware, and even that has the N7 logo emblazoned on the sleeve.”

Sam feels her shoulders slump.

“I have some dresses with me that I’ve not worn for many years,” Liara offers, and Samantha perks up almost immediately. “I brought them with me just in case. Maybe you’ll find something that you like?”

“It can’t hurt to look,” Samantha agrees, allowing Liara to lead her back to her cabin.

-

Jane doesn’t know what she’s expecting. They’ve given her some sort of party dress to wear and made her brush her hair (urgh), because obviously this is an exciting event and they want to broadcast her being reunited with her crew worldwide. There’s a crowd gathered, held back by makeshift fencing.

It’s a member of said crowd who first spots them, calling out and pointing up at the two joined ships. Jane shields her eyes and follows their direction, her heart momentarily stopping in her chest.

Luckily, they’d had a wide enough area fenced off in anticipation, and the ships land a good distance away from Jane without crushing anybody.

The crew of the krogan vessel step off first, met by applause. Jane hurries over to shake their hands, thanking them for everything that they’ve done.

“It was nothing, Commander,” Fausta insists. “After everything you did for us, it was the least we could do.”

They leave to reunite with their own loved ones, and Jane fiddles nervously with her fingers.

The door opens to the Normandy, and the ramp extends down.

They’re all gathered at the top. Even Joker, though he’s using James for support. Everyone except EDI…

As though sensing her concern, Joker calls down, “Her body got damaged. She’s online, though.”

Good. Good. They’re all safe, they’re all unharmed. Her eyes trail over them all. Ashley, Garrus, Tali, Steve. Liara’s standing next to Samantha, who… shit.

Jane had only ever seen Samantha in three outfits: her Alliance uniform, her underwear, and nothing. This, however, might be her favourite so far. Well, beside that last one.

She’s wearing a form-fitting red dress. The neckline reaches down in a deep V shape, revealing cleavage the Alliance uniform just doesn’t.

Judging by the proud smile on Liara’s face, this is her doing. She’ll have to thank her later. Right now, with thousands of eyes watching her every move, it probably isn’t the best idea.

She takes a step towards the ramp. Her crew look around at each-other, unsure of who should make the first move. Eventually, Tali decides she can’t hold in her excitement any longer and bounces down the ramp, pulling Jane into a tight hug.

“Shepard!” she says. “We thought you were dead.”

“Well, I thought you were dead,” Jane shoots back.

“Fair enough,” Tali looks over her shoulder, stepping out of the way just as Garrus arrives to envelope her in a hug, too. And then it’s Ashley, and Steve, and Joker is hobbling to her from James, who had apparently assisted him down the ramp while she was otherwise preoccupied. And then James, and then Liara, and then, finally, Sam.

She pulls her close, nuzzling into her neck and whispering in her ear; “best ‘til last, eh?”

Samantha giggles, and Jane feels the vibration moving through her body. God, it’s just delicious. “Something like that.”

Eventually, Jane forces herself to pull away. She immediately reaches for Samantha’s hand though, giving it a quick squeeze and then refusing to let go. She doesn’t seem to mind.

There are interviews to be conducted and autographs to sign. When asked where they intend to spend the night, Garrus confesses they’d been planning on sleeping aboard the ship. Jane is more than happy to roll with this idea.

That night, after a series of games with the rest of the crew (mostly board games, since Steve had threatened to throw himself out of the airlock after their last karaoke night and, more specifically, James’ unique rendition of My Heart Will Go On), Samantha drags an eager Jane back to her cabin.

The moment the door hisses shut, their lips meet, hands roaming each-other’s bodies. Even with the weeks that have passed since they were last like this together, Jane finds she seems to have committed Samantha’s body to memory, knowing exactly where to go to get a given reaction.

Jane pulls away suddenly and Samantha looks around, confused.

“What?” she asks. “Did I do something wrong?”

“No,” Jane wraps her arms around her waist and tugs her closer, so their bodies are flush against each-other. “I just noticed that my fish aren’t dead.”

Samantha laughs, resting her forehead against Jane’s shoulder. “I’ve been feeding them for you.”

“I seem to remember a certain very attractive young woman saying she would never feed my fish for me.”

“Yeah, well, desperate times and all that,” she raises her head, leaning upward slightly to brush her nose against Jane’s.

Jane closes the distance between them briefly. “Thank you,” this is followed by another quick peck. This time when she pulls away, Samantha lets out a small groan of frustration that makes her chuckle.

“Stop talking!” she grumbles, using the fact that her arms are behind Jane to slip under the fabric of her dress and snap her bra against her back.

Jane hisses in response to this. “Just one more thing.”

“Go on.”

“This,” she lets a hand trail down the small of Samantha’s back, over the curve of her rump before finally settling on her upper thigh. The process elicits a shiver from the other woman, which Jane delights in, “really suits you.”

“I should hope so,” Samantha mumbles. “But, you know, it’s really uncomfortable.”

“Is it?” Jane asks, voice low. Sam nods against her chest. “We can’t have that now, can we? Here. Let me help you out of it.”

“God, finally!” Jane is already working on the dress' zipper, and Samantha captures her lips in another heated kiss.


End file.
